Tennessee Promise

The Tennessee Board of Regents released data last week that attempts to answer the main question behind Tennessee Promise: Does giving away two years of free community college ultimately translate into more degrees?

The answer, the data suggests, is yes. But the gains are a little more modest than officials were probably hoping for.

School hasn't even started for most students, but state officials want high school seniors to start planning for after graduation.

Starting today, the class of 2018 can apply for Tennessee Promise, the governor's signature education plan allowing high school graduates to attend community or technical college tuition-free. Students have to apply to the program by Nov. 1.

Helping Tennesseans go to college takes more than giving them free tuition: That's one of the takeaways from a report released Monday by Complete Tennessee, a nonprofit that tracks higher education in the state.

The first class of students who went to community college for free under Tennessee Promise is graduating this spring. Some might go straight into the workforce, some plan to transfer to public universities — but private colleges are starting to make a concerted effort to recruit them, too.

Tennessee Promise — the statewide program that allows high school graduates to go to community college for free — seems to be boosting the number of students returning for a second year, according to preliminary data.

The state hasn't yet released official retention numbers from the first class of Tennessee Promise. But a handful of schools in Middle Tennessee are reporting higher retention rates.